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Overview

The purpose of the module is explore the social, cultural, economic and political dimensions of forest management with emphasis on cultural services, human wellbeing, livelihoods and governance. The module introduces important theoretical and empirical work and takes a global perspective.

The module will provide you with the opportunity to acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of the social dimensions of forest management and to develop their abilities to review, synthesise and communicate information from a range of source materials (working both individually and collaboratively).

The module is organised into four units as outlined below:

1: Changing paradigms and new challenges in forest management; multiple stakeholder groups, diverse values/perspectives and conflict surrounding forest use and development.

2: Cultural services and human well-being; symbolic, cultural, spiritual and recreational values attached to forests and trees; forests and human health and wellbeing; education and knowledge systems; forests and forestry in shaping cultural landscapes.

3: Land-use, livelihoods and socio-economic development; understanding forest transitions; livelihoods, provisioning and broader processes of economic development; employment trends; technological and product innovations in the forestry sector; changing markets for forest products/services.

4: Forest governance: multiple scales for multiple functions; public participation in forest decision-making; forest tenure and property rights; decentralisation/devolution and community forestry initiatives; governance in landscape restoration initiatives; certification and legality verification; payments for ecosystem services (PES) and reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).

Each unit will consist of some or all of the following; live lectures, live discussions, live seminars, pre-recorded lectures and discussion forum tasks. A fieldtrip is included but there is no requirement to attend in person as extensive video footage will be taken allowing all students to get a feel for the site and gain an understanding of community forestry in a Welsh context.

Assessment Strategy

-threshold -Grades C- to C+. Coursework (group learning resource and individual essay) that demonstrates satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the chosen topics, but shows limited evidence of independent research and critical thinking.

-good -Grades B- to B+. Coursework (group learning resource and individual essay) that demonstrates good knowledge and understanding of the chosen topics, evidence of independent research and critical thinking.

-excellent -Grades A- to A*. Coursework (group learning resource and individual essay) that demonstrates excellent knowledge and understanding of the chosen topics, evidence of substantial independent research and a high-level of critical thinking.

Learning Outcomes

• Analyse emergent forms of multi-actor and multi-level decentralised forest governance and tenure and assess the challenges, opportunities and future prospects for more socially inclusive approaches to forest management.

• Critically evaluate the changing paradigms and new challenges in forest management and how these relate to diverse – often competing and conflicting – social values attached to forests and trees.

• Critically evaluate the roles that forests and trees play in livelihoods and economic development in different places and for different people and anticipate future trends.

• Identify the multiple relationships between forests, human health and wellbeing and assess how and why these vary across time and space.